INTERVIEW
See where your career can take you
No career follows a linear path – there are bound to be unexpected twists and turns along the way. Thinking beyond your early goals, or stepping outside of your current comfort zone, could help open-up new opportunities
andbuildyourskillsandknowledgeacrossabroaderfield.
And for School Librarian Graeme Boyd, international jobs has provided an extra dimension to his career, as he explains to Rob Green.
WHEN Graeme Boyd began his career in libraries, he followed a fairly well-trodden path – working in his school library followed by a stint as a Saturday assistant in his local public library. The opportunities that fol- lowed were not typical, and Graeme developed a broader experience of working in libraries early on. He began helping out at his school library where “my first ‘boss’ was Andrew Cowan, who went on to write the wonderful book Pig (1994) and is former director of the creative writing programme at the Univer- sity of East Anglia. Little did he know the influence he would have on me.” He says: “I then started working on Saturday’s for East Renfrewshire Council in their public libraries. I much preferred the libraries in the more deprived areas, as there were far more characters there… all with a story or two to tell! It was whilst working for East Renfrewshire Council that I met Liz McGettigan, currently Director of Digital Library Experiences at Solus UK, who is still a mentor to this day. “Around this time, I started my MSc in Information and Library Studies at Univer- sity of Strathclyde. When I was doing that, I was also working unpaid ‘work experience’ at The Glasgow School of Art Library. That then became a part-time paid job which was probably one of the best library jobs I’ve ever had in my life. I worked in the original
18 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
Rob Green (
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk) is Editor, Information Professional.
iconic Mackintosh building, which was mainly used by researchers and academics (appointment only), but which now pains me to say is no longer there because of a fire in 2014.”
New openings
Graeme developed an interest in prison libraries while studying for his MSc, and that led to a position at HMP Wandsworth, which was “a real eye opener for me; adult literacy, language barriers, creative writ- ing… it really shaped my philosophy which I still believe to this day that the power of libraries can change lives for the better.” Other jobs followed as Graeme moved sec- tors again, working in librarian and archivist jobs at BBC and Condé Nast. However, it
July-August 2023
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